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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 18 11:26 pm Post subject:

lots of wood eating beetles in adult mode,
more wasps than a couple of weeks ago , the one i said hello to this am was pretty bored of hunting insects going by the way it grabbed and abandoned what looked quite a tasty fly

the young thrush is doing a fine job of snail control and the shells are not too crunchy underfoot

the sparrows are less in number , adults broodying/feeding the next clutch and a highish casualty rate among the young at an informed guess

bunnies seem to be doing well , not my bunnies, not my problem , no ones problem as their territory is mixed and they are ignored or welcomed. the greater warren includes top quality park ( the buns and mr McGregor have an understanding), "wasteland", sports club, hedges n edges, sssi salad grazing, spinney and i assume the odd bit of garden. good location as most of it is fairly flood proof unless it gets very very damp. they are prey for foxey, raptors and sometimes feed a hound or two ( not mine, although the buns have played "nicely" while we saunter casually to them and say hello ucap, counting coup on the local bunnies makes up for lots of elmer phudd moments with some very smart bunnies

)
as an observation on bunny behaviour, if you act harmless but acknowledge them from a distance if they catch your eye it is then possible to bimble about ignoring them until they are within reach. covering most of the distance from there to them using fieldcraft does speed it up

bunny greeting is open to ethical debate , imho is a rather neat way to train hounds to not disturb wildlife when pottering about ( and how to make sure there is dinner if necessary )
anecdote not data but there seem less bees than last year, similar range of spp. but less numbers, maybe i was playing builder rather than looking

buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 18 9:35 am Post subject:
Oh dpack! You have made my day by using the word 'bimble'. One of my late father's favourite words, and I've not heard it, let alone seen it written down, since he died. Henry

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 18 2:38 pm Post subject:

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 18 8:14 pm Post subject:

as the first of the blackberries are ripening, good crop this year, i would have expected fruit keen wasps, a fraction of lasts years count so far.

a damp start and then a dry mid year might not suit em.
might be something else, insect food seems to have been ok for the birds who go for that in spring/early summer.

anecdote not data but i recon less bees, wasps and hoverflies this year ( visiting my tiny strip yard )
butterflies quite a few, bit short on moths. (ditto)
birds doing rather well (ditto)

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15966

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 18 8:22 am Post subject:
Have seen a fair number of bumble bees, hornets, butterflies, horse flies and mosquitoes. Seem to be quite a few moths coming in the house at night. Not seen too many wasps, but more coming round now. We tend to see them more at this time of year when they start going onto the fruit.

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4613
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 18 10:17 am Post subject:

Well I got stung last week by the biggest wasp I`ve ever seen the bugger was 1 1/4in,caught me just under my rib cage as I was bending over a feed bag filling a bucket,

A week before on a TB test i was doing i noticed this huge fly on the steers back,this was 1 1/2in long,even the Vet had`nt seen one,but mentioned someone had brought into the surgery one similar,this one got squissed,i noticed on a farming forum it was a Giant dark horsefly,never seen one in my life before.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 18 11:00 am Post subject:
i never want to meet a horsefly the size of a hornet that could need celox and a tourniquet.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 18 11:22 am Post subject:
One of the juvenile sparrows has taken to hopping in through the french windows to pick up crumbs from under the dining table.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 18 12:13 pm Post subject:
our local ones are confident enough to treat me as a harmless and sometimes bountiful part of the environment outside. so far none have popped in for a snack.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8916
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 18 8:43 pm Post subject:
Out for a bike ride today from Southerness near Dumfries..saw a curlew flying low across the road in front of us. Then in the Mabie Forest between New Abbey and Beeswing,a goshawk going through trees at speed, also crossing the road. It made riding up the hills worth it!

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2571
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 18 9:54 pm Post subject:
I generally don't have much of a reaction to wasp / yellow jacket / bee sting. While weeding last Thursday I got bitten on the inside of my right forearm by - I guess - a spider. Red and swollen over an area about the size of my hand. Itching / burning. Took an antihistamine, applied a topical antihistamine ointment, ice 20 minutes on / 20 minutes off. Took two days to clear up.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 18 11:02 pm Post subject:
we have something that lives in the water meadow salad which i assume to be a fairly small spider by the bite i thought the back of my hand was going to split . topical pain relief and antihistamines is never wasted on such a challenge hope no long term damage.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15966

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 18 6:53 am Post subject:
I didn't know British spiders were venomous enough to do that much damage. There are some nasty flies around though. I am glad to say that our hornets haven't bothered with us at all, although they come hawking round our yard. They are very beautiful with pink legs and orange and black bodies. Can't miss them.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 18 11:39 am Post subject:

no gnt it was a uk native, york has been cosmopolitan for quite a while. whatever it was it had a fairly nasty venom. the tiny fang marks were less than a mm apart and the initial nip was sharp but no more than a thistle spine in intensity. for the next 12 hrs or so it just got nastier and took a couple of weeks to recover to a normal shape and colour.

a few years ago i had a fiddle back on my doorstep in huddersfield. i recon that came out of a parcel

a chum who sells world music instruments has had some interesting stowaways. always hoover a dige before trying it

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15966

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 18 6:19 am Post subject:
They used to import bananas through Portsmouth and some interesting spiders were found as stowaways there. Think Southampton has that joy now.

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